Any Given Thursday

Any Given Thursday is a live CD/DVD by John Mayer, recorded in Birmingham, Alabama at the Oak Mountain Amphitheater on September 12, 2002, during the Room for Squares tour. The album quickly peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200 chart. It features mostly songs from Room for Squares, as well as several covers, including "Lenny" by Stevie Ray Vaughan and "Message in a Bottle" by The Police. Covers have since become a regular feature in Mayer's live shows.

Any Given Thursday
Live album by
John Mayer
ReleasedFebruary 11, 2003 (CD version)
February 25, 2003 (DVD version)
RecordedSeptember 12, 2002, in Birmingham, Alabama
GenrePop rock, blues rock
Length102:25
LabelColumbia, Aware, SMV Enterprises
ProducerJohn Alagia
John Mayer chronology
Room for Squares
(2001)		 Any Given Thursday
(2003)		 Heavier Things
(2003)

Production and content

Though mostly featuring songs from Room For Squares, the album also features "Man On The Side" (co-written with Cook and appeared on the Lo-Fi Master's Demo) and "Covered in Rain", neither of which have ever been released on a studio recording. "Covered in Rain", according to a documentary included in the DVD release, is "part two" of the song "City Love", which features the line, "covered in rain." The concert features songs previously not heard, such as "Something's Missing", which appeared on Heavier Things, his following album. It also features "Comfortable" from his original EP, Inside Wants Out. John Mayer also features his newly recorded song at the time " 3x5 " .

The DVD contained several features in addition to the concert: an audio commentary of the concert by Mayer and his friend Scotty Crowe (whose blog is hosted on Mayer's site since 2006), a photo gallery from the tour (not exclusively the concert shown in the video itself), and a documentary of an interview with Mayer entitled, "The Morning After", in which Mayer talks about his influences, some meanings of songs, and just general information about Mayer. The video was taken the Friday morning after the concert.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]
Entertainment WeeklyB- [2]
Robert Christgau [3]
PopMattersmixed [4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]

The CD/DVD received conservative consistent praise with critics torn between his pop-idol image, and (at the time) emerging guitar prowess. Erik Crawford (of Allmusic) asked "Is he the consummate guitar hero exemplified when he plays a cover of Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'Lenny', or is he the teen idol that the pubescent girls shriek for after he plays 'Your Body Is a Wonderland'?"[1][4] Billboard called the DVD "a great introduction to a rising star."[6] David Browne, with Entertainment Weekly, gave the album a B- saying, "one wishes Mayer were a more convincing rebel, but at least he doth protest a little."[2]

Commercially, Any Given Thursday entered the Billboard Albums Top 100 chart at number 34. It peaked at #23 for one week, and spent a total of 12 weeks on the chart. It quickly peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200 chart. In Australia, the DVD is certified 3x platinum by ARIA for sales of 45,000 copies.[7]

Track listing

All songs written by John Mayer unless noted otherwise.

Disc one
  1. "3x5" – 8:05
  2. "No Such Thing" (Clay Cook, John Mayer) – 4:46
  3. "Back to You" – 4:36
  4. "City Love" – 5:11
  5. "Something's Missing" – 6:47
  6. "Man on the Side" Medley – 8:46
  7. "Message in a Bottle" The Police – 5:06
  8. "Love Song for No One" (Cook, Mayer) – 3:35

Disc two
  1. "Why Georgia" – 8:24
  2. "Your Body Is a Wonderland" – 6:05 Note: Mayer preempts playing this song by telling the audience that he wrote it in Birmingham.
  3. "My Stupid Mouth" – 5:02
  4. "Covered in Rain" – 10:25
  5. "83" Medley – 7:29
  6. "Comfortable" (Cook, Mayer) – 7:37
  7. "Neon" (Cook, Mayer) – 10:22

DVD version
  1. Introduction
  2. "3x5" – 8:05
  3. "No Such Thing" (Cook, Mayer) – 4:46
  4. "Back to You" – 4:36
  5. "City Love" – 5:11
  6. "Something's Missing" – 6:47
  7. "Man on the Side" Medley – 8:46
    • "Lenny" (Vaughan)
    • "Man on the Side" (Cook, Mayer)
  8. "Message in a Bottle" (Sting) – 5:06
  9. "Love Song for No One" (Cook, Mayer) – 3:35
  10. "Why Georgia" – 8:24
  11. "Your Body Is a Wonderland" – 6:05
  12. "My Stupid Mouth" – 5:02
  13. "Covered in Rain" – 10:25
  14. "83" Medley – 7:29
    • "83" (Mayer)
    • "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (Hazard)
    • "Let's Hear It For The Boy" (T. Snow, D. Pitchford)
  15. "Comfortable" (Cook, Mayer) – 7:37
  16. "Neon" (Cook, Mayer) – 10:22
    • Features a drum solo and a bass guitar solo
  17. Credits

Personnel
  • John Mayer – vocals, guitars, keyboards
  • Michael Chaves – keyboards, guitars, backing vocals
  • David LaBruyere – bass guitars
  • Stephen Chopek – drums, percussion

Differences between the DVD and CD releases
  • The song "Jóga" (originally by experimental musical artist Björk) does not appear on the CD release due to copyright troubles; however, it does appear on the DVD.
  • Between many songs, the CD contains some brief comments by Mayer. On the DVD, these comments tend to be longer, including a few long monologues referred to by Mayer himself as "John's Story Time" (on the DVD commentary).
  • Extended introductory explanations to songs (such as "City Love" and "Covered in Rain").

References
  1. Loftus, Johnny. Any Given Thursday at AllMusic
  2. Browne, David (March 14, 2003), "Strummer Time". Entertainment Weekly. (700):62
  3. Robert Christgau review
  4. PopMatters review
  5. Rolling Stone Album Guide
  6. J.K.; Taylor, Chuck (March 8, 2003), "Any Given Thursday (Film)". Billboard. 115 (10):36
  7. John Mayer – Any Given Thursday αCharts.us. Retrieved 2007-10-17


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